Conwy Castle

First of the famous three castles built in Wales by Edward I, work on building Conwy Castle began in 1283. Its construction was part of the new English walled town of Conwy, and much of those massive walls around the town still exist to day. Its architecture is similar to that found in The Kingdom of Savoy – Sardinia – as this is where the builder, James of Saint George hailed from, and he was also instrumental in the design and build of the other two great castles.

The castle and town were built on lands previously owned by Aberconwy Abbey, a Cistercian order reputably to have been favoured by the Welsh princes.

We still have the accounts for building the whole project, but they did not keep the castle separate from the whole of the town build. However we know that the whole build cost £15,000 in 1286, so that is equivalent to nine million in to day’s money, though you can’t really make comparisons on such an old sum.

The railway bridge was built across the estuary in 1848, and the edge of this can be seen in the left hand side of the picture, behind the road bridge that was built in 1826. These bridges covered the postern gate that led down to the river.

Our picture was taken at 9 pm on a June evening, using a Canon 5DII and 24-105L lens.